Japan is a famous tourist destination, despite the lack of
English spoken in everyday life. Nevertheless, this should not be something to
be feared of when planning to travel alone (without any tour packages). The main
reason is because Japanese are welcoming and are willing to explain as clear as
possible (sign language was our main method of communication during our stay in
Japan). In case you guys are wondering what an 8-day itinerary to Japan
(Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka) looks like, here is a sample of it. I went there on end of
June 2015 with my parents. I suggest to spend more days at Kyoto and less at
Osaka.
There are some things that I need to state beforehand:
- We did not purchase a JR Pass. I found it okay
not to purchase one as I kept all close destinations in one day to prevent
troubling transportation cost (bear in mind that transportation in Japan is
expensive. Taxi is the most expensive mode transportation, while subway is the
best).
- Don’t ever show your “okay” thumb. It is rude in
Japanese culture
- No tipping!
- At Tokyo, stay at Shinjuku. It is easy to go
anywhere (especially when looking for food) and there are plenty of affordable
hotels.
- You don’t have to fuss over finding good food in
Japan. Trust me, I spent a week planning the best food itinerary yet when I got
there, nearly everything I ate were fantastic.
- Subways for Tokyo and Osaka, buses for Kyoto.
Buy the 1-day pass for Kyoto bus for Y1,500 per pax. I highly recommend it! I
purchased at my hotel.
Day 1
Arrival at Narita Airport in the morning. Take the Airport
Limousine Bus which will cost you around Y3,100. In my opinion this is the most
convenient mode of transportation if you bring big (and more than one) luggages.
The driver will handle everything while you just hop on the bus and enjoy the
two-hour ride to Shinjuku Station or Keio Plaza Hotel. Another option is to use the subway, of
course, from Narita or Haneda Airport.
I planned to have lunch at Ichiran Ramen but we were lost in
the middle of nowhere that we had to stop to eat at another ramen restaurant, which was Kohmen
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| Pudding to accompany the delicious ramen |
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| One of the best ramen I ate in Japan |
Turned out that Ichiran was not far away from it.
Ichiran gave a unique dining experience.
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| You have to order
with a “vending machine”, |
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| then a waiter will bring a piece of paper for you to
tick your noodle and sauce preferences, |
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| then you will dine in a room with long
counters, where you will sit in front of the ramen chef,yet separated by a
wall. |
After your lunch, head to Shinjuku Station and take the Oedo
Line to Yoyogi.
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| Walk a while and you’ll find the peaceful Yoyogi Park. |
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| It was
quite a long walk before you reach Meiji Jingu Shrine. |
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|
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| Some wishes written and hung on these special 'bars' |
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| I wish I knew what these were. But sure it was a great spot to take picture |
Right after that,
continue to Takeshita Street (there will be a sign so you don’t have to worry)
to shop!
Don’t spend too much of your
time here. We were a bit long here thus when taking the subway from Harajuku
Station, it was rush hour already. The train was full; we were packed like
sardines.
After that we had dinner around Shinjuku area.
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| I forgot the
name of the restaurant but the food was so-so. |
Day 2
We had breakfast at Kisuna Sushi in Shinjuku. It was nice!
We ordered California roll and a set of seafood skewer.
Then, we went to Tsukiji
Fish Market. Sadly, it was closed. It rarely closed though, so we were just
unlucky that time. For your trip, I really recommend you to go here.
Itinerary was ruined! We planned to switch our day-3 Nikko
trip to day-2. Here is the journey.
First, we had to go to Tobu Asakusa Station. Take the
Asakusa line to Asakusa Station, then walk a bit to Tobu Asakusa Station. Ask
the staff there, they will tell you the nearest exit. After you get out of the
station and before you cross the road, turn left. There is a nice soba
restaurant: Nadai Fiujisoba.
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| The soba was light-tasted. |
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| And… you have to order
using a “vending machine” again. |
P.s. check out the toilet up stairs! Compact!
We arrived at the station around 2pm and it was too late to
buy ticket to Nikko (we only wanted to spend one day at Nikko). So if you want
to go to Nikko, better to arrive there early in the morning at 7am to buy the
around 8am train ticket from Asakusa Tobu Station to Tobu Nikko Station. This
will be a tiring trip for a one-day Nikko trip. You have to wake up early in
the morning to go to Asakusa Station, not to mention transferring trains.
Nevertheless, it is cheaper as you can pay around Y2000 that also includes
transportation in Nikko to Kegon waterfall and Lake Chuzenji. Another
alternative is to ride the Shinkansen train, which I will explain later, as we
happened to choose this alternative.
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| I bought this in a mall right beside the ticket shop. There were 2 choices of favour: matcha and honey |
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| A must buy: Fugetsu Do. |
Failed to go to Tsukiji and Nikko, we went to Sensoji
Temple. We were around Asakusa and the temple was the best choice to spend our
time in. On your way to Sensoji Temple, there will be lots and lots of shops! I
personally think that this is one of the best shopping areas to buy authentic
souvenirs of Japan.
For Sensoji Temple, I would rate 7.0/10. It is majestic, it
is big, but too crowded! You might experience difficulties to take good
pictures here, as compared to the Meiji Shrine.
Next, we went to Ginza. I do not
recommend anyone to go here. Everything was expensive as it was a place of
high-end products. Uniqlo was so-so too.
Nevertheless, do try to stop by
Gyu-An, a restaurant famous for its Kobe beef. Unfortunately, we spent 2 hours
looking for this place and when we finally found it, all tables were booked. To
go here, you will find Uniqlo on your right. At the corner of the block, turn
left (cross the road) and you’ll find Ginza Lion. Continue walking. Ask where
Dotour bakery is. Once you find it, Gyu-An is right next to it. Good luck!
(p.s. Maybe you need reservation).
Speaking of bakery, you need to
visit Pompadour. It is located at Ginza 7. I bought the matcha and raspberry
roll.
We went back to Shinjuku and ate at Bonbori. It is located
at the back of Kisuna Sushi.
Order anything there, coz everything was good!
Day 3
Mom was sick early in the morning. We had brunch at
Sangokuichi, where I ordered Katsu.
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| The portion was huge. I would rate the taste
8/10. |
Dad and I went to Tokyo Station. Now pay attention closely: you need to
visit Tokyo Station if you want to travel seriously. The staffs were helpful
and one of them spoke English quite well. She gave us the train schedule from
Shinjuku to Utsonomiya, then to Nikko.
We decided to take the Shinkansen, where
early in the morning, we will go to Nikko, then back to Tokyo, then continue to
Kyoto. This was done as unexpected things had happened on Day 2. We had no
better choices, so we paid Y2,400 per pax for tomorrow’s trip. It was more
expensive compared to taking the Asakusa Line, yet it was faster and more
convenient. Plus, we got to try the fastest train in the world.
Back to Shinjuku, we ate our dinner at Seikoen. Delicious
Korean BBQ, you should definitely visit it.
Day 4
You’ll be given 3 tickets to Nikko and 3 tickets from Nikko.
The gates will work according to how many tickets you insert in. The station
staff will help you, but the machines had pictures on it to indicate how many
tickets you should insert. Planning to use the same itinerary? Well, we chose
the 7.12am train from Tokyo Station to Utsonomiya Station, then 8.23am from
Utsonomiya to Nikko Station.
So, here we go. We woke up at 5am, left hotel at 6am. Took
the subway to Tokyo Station (Chuo Line) from Shinjuku Station. At Tokyo
Station, do not exit. Change line, insert 3 tickets (Chuo Line ticket,
Shinkansen ticket and local train to Nikko ticket). Choose platform 5 to go to
Utsonomiya.
At Utsonomiya, do not exit, only change platform. Insert 2
remaining tickets.
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| The local train to Nikko has no reservation. |
You’ll spend
total around 2 hours of traveling time. At Nikko Station, purchase 2-day pass, Y2,000 per pax.
Really recommend this. Take the bus to Toshugu Shrine...
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| You must visit Toshugu Shrine. Super majestic and historically important |
...then go to bus stop
number 83. From 83, go to 84.
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| Vicinity of Bus Stop number 84 |
At 84, walk opposite of the bus direction, turn
right, walk straight and you’ll find bus stop number 9. Number 9 is the
Shinjishisando bus stop (same name with bus stop number 84, but different bus and different place!), where you have to take the Tobu Bus to Chuzenji
Station.
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| Time table of both the station bus and Tobu bus |
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| At Chuzenji Station, turn right on the main road for the Kegon Falls (5
mins walk) |
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| ... or turn left for the Chuzenji Lake (10 mins walk). |
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| You can even see the bottom of the river... |
There were some small restaurants and souvenir shops there,
so do not worry of getting hungry. Last, take the bus from Chuzenji Onsen to Shinkyo Bridge.
After Shinkyo bridge, take the bus back to Tobu Nikko Station.
Nikko – Utsonomiya – Tokyo – Kyoto. There were no direct
trains, so you need to go back to Tokyo and take the Nozomi Shikansen to Kyoto
for another 2-hour trip.
Arrival at Kyoto. We stayed at Matsubaya Ryokan. Such a cozy
tiny hotel. If you go out to find Avanti ahead, you are at the wrong exit. You
need to go to the back of the building through McDonnalds. Once you find Kyoto Tower, walk straight for several blocks (quite far, you need to pass the Kyoto
Station Hotel too) until you find a tiny street with 4 statues. Turn right
there and the ryokan is at your right side.
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| Vicinity of Matsubaya Ryokan |
Day 5
Had breakfast at Honke Daiichiasahi. From Kyoto Station
(yesterdays route, facing the Kyoto Tower), turn right. Walk for 2 blocks I
think, you’ll find Karasuma dori turn right.
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| It is a different type of ramen. Not creamy, but instead, really porky. RECOMMENDED! |
Shopping at Kyoto? Gion it is! We took bus no 206 from Kyoto Station (you’ll
be given a bus map once you purchased the bus pass). I found Gion interesting,
with high quality goods. A bit expensive, but please spend your time here
rather than Teramachi St. etc. Gion has unique, authentic Japanese products
that you should not miss.
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| If you are lucky, you may meet the real geisha. They may appear during afternoon |
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| You can rent kimono |
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| Nama Yatsuhasi!!! So soft, sweet, and will never get tired of it! |
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| Kyo Baumkuchen (Otabe). Sponge cake that I blows my mind. |
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| I don't know is the name of it, but as far as I remeber it was a mixture of Uji Matha (cake-icing-cake) |
We went to Pontocho as well.
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| Pontocho offered a unique Japanese
streets experience. |
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| Beautiful river with hills and
city lights. There were lots of food too! |
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| Small streets with restaurants and souvenir shops on the
left and right, with people crowding the pathway are definitely great places to
roam. |
Day 6
We went to Fushimi Inari. WOW! Food, souvenirs along the
way. It was nearly as lively as Asakusa street shops.
If you just want to take
pictures at the phenomenal red gate, spend max an hour here. It should be
enough.
Get your lunch here too,
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| Inari, at Fushimi Inari |
then head to Arashiyama.
We did not go to Arashiyama because we had to go to Gion (we
made a wrong transaction on day 5). At Gion, we stopped by Nana’s Green Tea and
enjoyed 3 green tea desserts.
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| Yummy! |
We went to Osaka using the JR Line Y560, stopped at Osaka
Station, then changed to Midosuji subway line to Namba coz we stayed there.
Then we had our dinner at Tenkappin.
The ramen was okay (7/10), and the chahan
was a bit better (7.6/10).
Day 7
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| Breakfast at Yoshinoya, |
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| brought a unique donut, I think it was olive oil donut (?) but it was so good. |
Then went shopping at Namba Station.
Took the Midosuji
Line to Umeda Station. Why? Snoopy Town! It is located at Hankyu Sanbangai. Not
so difficult to get there. Bear in mind that you have to go to the South Mall
through B2F or 1F. The store is located at B1F, near Body Shop and Kiddy Land.
We took subway to Shinsaibashi, and headed to Daimaru. And
we found another Snoopy store! It was more expensive but the products were so
Japanese that we purchased some items there.
From Daimaru, we went to Namba, and stopped by at Dotonbori,
then ate Okonomiyaki at Botejyu.
I would give 7.8/10. The yakitori was 9/10 and
the soba was 7.2/10.
Here are some pictures to translate how metropolis Osaka is
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| Dotonbori! Food food food |
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| The famous king crab place everyone keeps talking about... |
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| ...while I could only admire how cute the crab was |
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| The "standing ramen". For people who are rushing that they can't sit even for awhile |
Day 8
Okay, Osaka was confusing because there were too many shops
along the way that it was easy to lose your way.
So I cannot give any specific
directions to Koganko, where we ate a bowl of delicious cold soba.
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| I would rate
8.2/10 for Koganko. |
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| We also found a tiny eatery called Party Land Frozen Yogurt
(8.7/10 for the banana strawberry frozen yogurt). |
We then took the light green subway line to Osaka Castle
from Nagoshimaru Station. Such a peaceful area despite it located at the Osaka
Business Center.
I would give 7.8/10. The yakitori was 9/10 and
the soba was 7.2/10. 
